Chapter XIX: Constantius Sole Emperor.—Part I.

Constantius Sole Emperor.—Elevation And Death Of Gallus.—
Danger And Elevation Of Julian.—Sarmatian And Persian
Wars.—Victories Of Julian In Gaul.

The divided provinces of the empire were again united by the victory of
Constantius; but as that feeble prince was destitute of personal merit,
either in peace or war; as he feared his generals, and distrusted his
ministers; the triumph of his arms served only to establish the reign
of the eunuchs over the Roman world. Those unhappy beings, the ancient
production of Oriental jealousy and despotism,22092209 Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 6) imputes the first practice of castration to the cruel ingenuity of Semiramis, who is supposed to
have reigned above nineteen hundred years before Christ. The use of eunuchs is of high antiquity, both in Asia and Egypt.
They are mentioned in the law of Moses, Deuteron. xxxiii. 1. See Goguet, Origines des Loix, &c., Part i. l. i. c. 3.
were introduced into
Greece and Rome by the contagion of Asiatic luxury.22102210 Eunuchum dixti velle te; Quia solae utuntur his reginae—Terent. Eunuch. act i. scene 2. This play is translated from Meander,
and the original must have appeared soon after the eastern conquests of Alexander.
Their progress
was rapid; and the eunuchs, who, in the time of Augustus, had been
abhorred, as the monstrous retinue of an Egyptian queen,22112211 Miles.... spadonibus Servire rugosis potest. Horat. Carm. v. 9, and Dacier ad loe. By the word spado, the Romans very forcibly
expressed their abhorrence of this mutilated condition. The Greek appellation of eunuchs, which insensibly prevailed, had
a milder sound, and a more ambiguous sense.
were
gradually admitted into the families of matrons, of senators, and of the
emperors themselves.22122212 We need only mention Posides, a freedman and eunuch of Claudius, in whose favor the emperor prostituted some of the most
honorable rewards of military valor. See Sueton. in Claudio, c. 28. Posides employed a great part of his wealth in building.
Ut Spado vincebat Capitolia Nostra Posides. Juvenal. Sat. xiv.] Castrari mares vetuit. Sueton. in Domitian. c. 7. See Dion Cassius, l. lxvii. p. 1107, l. lxviii. p. 1119.
Restrained by the severe edicts of Domitian
and Nerva, cherished by the pride of Diocletian, reduced to an humble
station by the prudence of Constantine,22132213 There is a passage in the Augustan History, p. 137, in which Lampridius, whilst he praises Alexander Severus and Constantine
for restraining the tyranny of the eunuchs, deplores the mischiefs which they occasioned in other reigns. Huc accedit quod
eunuchos nec in consiliis nec in ministeriis habuit; qui soli principes perdunt, dum eos more gentium aut regum Persarum volunt
vivere; qui a populo etiam amicissimum semovent; qui internuntii sunt, aliud quam respondetur, referentes; claudentes principem
suum, et agentes ante omnia ne quid sciat.
they multiplied in the
palaces of his degenerate sons, and insensibly acquired the knowledge,
and at length the direction, of the secret councils of Constantius. The
aversion and contempt which mankind had so uniformly entertained for
that imperfect species, appears to have degraded their character, and to
have rendered them almost as incapable as they were supposed to be, of
conceiving any generous sentiment, or of performing any worthy action.
22142214 Xenophon (Cyropaedia, l. viii. p. 540) has stated the specious reasons which engaged Cyrus to intrust his person to the guard
of eunuchs. He had observed in animals, that although the practice of castration might tame their ungovernable fierceness,
it did not diminish their strength or spirit; and he persuaded himself, that those who were separated from the rest of human
kind, would be more firmly attached to the person of their benefactor. But a long experience has contradicted the judgment
of Cyrus. Some particular instances may occur of eunuchs distinguished by their fidelity, their valor, and their abilities;
but if we examine the general history of Persia, India, and China, we shall find that the power of the eunuchs has uniformly
marked the decline and fall of every dynasty.
But the eunuchs were skilled in the arts of flattery and intrigue;
and they alternately governed the mind of Constantius by his fears, his
indolence, and his vanity.22152215 See Ammianus Marcellinus, l. xxi. c. 16, l. xxii. c. 4. The whole tenor of his impartial history serves to justify the invectives
of Mamertinus, of Libanius, and of Julian himself, who have insulted the vices of the court of Constantius.
Whilst he viewed in a deceitful mirror
the fair appearance of public prosperity, he supinely permitted them to
intercept the complaints of the injured provinces, to accumulate immense
treasures by the sale of justice and of honors; to disgrace the most
important dignities, by the promotion of those who had purchased
at their hands the powers of oppression,22162216 Aurelius Victor censures the negligence of his sovereign in choosing the governors of the provinces, and the generals of
the army, and concludes his history with a very bold observation, as it is much more dangerous under a feeble reign to attack
the ministers than the master himself. "Uti verum absolvam brevi, ut Imperatore ipso clarius ita apparitorum plerisque magis
atrox nihil."
and to gratify their
resentment against the few independent spirits, who arrogantly
refused to solicit the protection of slaves. Of these slaves the most
distinguished was the chamberlain Eusebius, who ruled the monarch and
the palace with such absolute sway, that Constantius, according to
the sarcasm of an impartial historian, possessed some credit with
this haughty favorite.22172217 Apud quem (si vere dici debeat) multum Constantius potuit. Ammian. l. xviii. c. 4.
By his artful suggestions, the emperor was
persuaded to subscribe the condemnation of the unfortunate Gallus, and
to add a new crime to the long list of unnatural murders which pollute
the honor of the house of Constantine.

When the two nephews of Constantine, Gallus and Julian, were saved from
the fury of the soldiers, the former was about twelve, and the latter
about six, years of age; and, as the eldest was thought to be of a
sickly constitution, they obtained with the less difficulty a precarious
and dependent life, from the affected pity of Constantius, who was
sensible that the execution of these helpless orphans would have been
esteemed, by all mankind, an act of the most deliberate cruelty.22182218 Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. iii. p. 90) reproaches the apostate with his ingratitude towards Mark, bishop of Arethusa, who had
contributed to save his life; and we learn, though from a less respectable authority, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom.
iv. p. 916,) that Julian was concealed in the sanctuary of a church. * Note: Gallus and Julian were not sons of the same mother.
Their father, Julius Constantius, had had Gallus by his first wife, named Galla: Julian was the son of Basilina, whom he had
espoused in a second marriage. Tillemont. Hist. des Emp. Vie de Constantin. art. 3.—G.
Different cities of Ionia and Bithynia were assigned for the places of
their exile and education; but as soon as their growing years excited
the jealousy of the emperor, he judged it more prudent to secure those
unhappy youths in the strong castle of Macellum, near Caesarea. The
treatment which they experienced during a six years' confinement, was
partly such as they could hope from a careful guardian, and partly such
as they might dread from a suspicious tyrant.22192219 The most authentic account of the education and adventures of Julian is contained in the epistle or manifesto which he himself
addressed to the senate and people of Athens. Libanius, (Orat. Parentalis,) on the side of the Pagans, and Socrates, (l. iii.
c. 1,) on that of the Christians, have preserved several interesting circumstances.
Their prison was an
ancient palace, the residence of the kings of Cappadocia; the situation
was pleasant, the buildings of stately, the enclosure spacious. They
pursued their studies, and practised their exercises, under the tuition
of the most skilful masters; and the numerous household appointed to
attend, or rather to guard, the nephews of Constantine, was not unworthy
of the dignity of their birth. But they could not disguise to themselves
that they were deprived of fortune, of freedom, and of safety; secluded
from the society of all whom they could trust or esteem, and condemned
to pass their melancholy hours in the company of slaves devoted to the
commands of a tyrant who had already injured them beyond the hope
of reconciliation. At length, however, the emergencies of the state
compelled the emperor, or rather his eunuchs, to invest Gallus, in the
twenty-fifth year of his age, with the title of Caesar, and to cement
this political connection by his marriage with the princess Constantina.
After a formal interview, in which the two princes mutually engaged
their faith never to undertake any thing to the prejudice of each other,
they repaired without delay to their respective stations. Constantius
continued his march towards the West, and Gallus fixed his residence at
Antioch; from whence, with a delegated authority, he administered the
five great dioceses of the eastern praefecture.22202220 For the promotion of Gallus, see Idatius, Zosimus, and the two Victors. According to Philostorgius, (l. iv. c. 1,) Theophilus,
an Arian bishop, was the witness, and, as it were, the guarantee of this solemn engagement. He supported that character with
generous firmness; but M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 1120) thinks it very improbable that a heretic should
have possessed such virtue.
In this fortunate
change, the new Caesar was not unmindful of his brother Julian, who
obtained the honors of his rank, the appearances of liberty, and the
restitution of an ample patrimony.22212221 Julian was at first permitted to pursue his studies at Constantinople, but the reputation which he acquired soon excited
the jealousy of Constantius; and the young prince was advised to withdraw himself to the less conspicuous scenes of Bithynia
and Ionia.

The writers the most indulgent to the memory of Gallus, and even Julian
himself, though he wished to cast a veil over the frailties of his
brother, are obliged to confess that the Caesar was incapable of
reigning. Transported from a prison to a throne, he possessed neither
genius nor application, nor docility to compensate for the want of
knowledge and experience. A temper naturally morose and violent,
instead of being corrected, was soured by solitude and adversity; the
remembrance of what he had endured disposed him to retaliation rather
than to sympathy; and the ungoverned sallies of his rage were often
fatal to those who approached his person, or were subject to his power.
22222222 See Julian. ad S. P. Q. A. p. 271. Jerom. in Chron. Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, x. 14. I shall copy the words of Eutropius,
who wrote his abridgment about fifteen years after the death of Gallus, when there was no longer any motive either to flatter
or to depreciate his character. "Multis incivilibus gestis Gallus Caesar.... vir natura ferox et ad tyrannidem pronior, si
suo jure imperare licuisset."
Constantina, his wife, is described, not as a woman, but as one of
the infernal furies tormented with an insatiate thirst of human blood.
22232223 Megaera quidem mortalis, inflammatrix saevientis assidua, humani cruoris avida, &c. Ammian. Marcellin. l. xiv. c. 1. The
sincerity of Ammianus would not suffer him to misrepresent facts or characters, but his love of ambitious ornaments frequently
betrayed him into an unnatural vehemence of expression.
Instead of employing her influence to insinuate the mild counsels
of prudence and humanity, she exasperated the fierce passions of her
husband; and as she retained the vanity, though she had renounced, the
gentleness of her sex, a pearl necklace was esteemed an equivalent price
for the murder of an innocent and virtuous nobleman.22242224 His name was Clematius of Alexandria, and his only crime was a refusal to gratify the desires of his mother-in-law; who solicited
his death, because she had been disappointed of his love. Ammian. xiv. c. i.
The cruelty of
Gallus was sometimes displayed in the undissembled violence of popular
or military executions; and was sometimes disguised by the abuse of law,
and the forms of judicial proceedings. The private houses of Antioch,
and the places of public resort, were besieged by spies and informers;
and the Caesar himself, concealed in a a plebeian habit, very frequently
condescended to assume that odious character. Every apartment of the
palace was adorned with the instruments of death and torture, and a
general consternation was diffused through the capital of Syria. The
prince of the East, as if he had been conscious how much he had to fear,
and how little he deserved to reign, selected for the objects of his
resentment the provincials accused of some imaginary treason, and his
own courtiers, whom with more reason he suspected of incensing, by their
secret correspondence, the timid and suspicious mind of Constantius.
But he forgot that he was depriving himself of his only support, the
affection of the people; whilst he furnished the malice of his enemies
with the arms of truth, and afforded the emperor the fairest pretence of
exacting the forfeit of his purple, and of his life.22252225 See in Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 1, 7) a very ample detail of the cruelties of Gallus. His brother Julian (p. 272) insinuates,
that a secret conspiracy had been formed against him; and Zosimus names (l. ii. p. 135) the persons engaged in it; a minister
of considerable rank, and two obscure agents, who were resolved to make their fortune.

As long as the civil war suspended the fate of the Roman world,
Constantius dissembled his knowledge of the weak and cruel
administration to which his choice had subjected the East; and the
discovery of some assassins, secretly despatched to Antioch by the
tyrant of Gaul, was employed to convince the public, that the emperor
and the Caesar were united by the same interest, and pursued by the same
enemies.22262226 Zonaras, l. xiii. tom. ii. p. 17, 18. The assassins had seduced a great number of legionaries; but their designs were discovered
and revealed by an old woman in whose cottage they lodged.
But when the victory was decided in favor of Constantius,
his dependent colleague became less useful and less formidable. Every
circumstance of his conduct was severely and suspiciously examined, and
it was privately resolved, either to deprive Gallus of the purple, or
at least to remove him from the indolent luxury of Asia to the hardships
and dangers of a German war. The death of Theophilus, consular of the
province of Syria, who in a time of scarcity had been massacred by the
people of Antioch, with the connivance, and almost at the instigation,
of Gallus, was justly resented, not only as an act of wanton cruelty,
but as a dangerous insult on the supreme majesty of Constantius. Two
ministers of illustrious rank, Domitian the Oriental praefect, and
Montius, quaestor of the palace, were empowered by a special commission
22272227 The commission seems to have been granted to Domitian alone. Montius interfered to support his authority. Amm. Marc. loc.
cit.—M
to visit and reform the state of the East. They were instructed to
behave towards Gallus with moderation and respect, and, by the gentlest
arts of persuasion, to engage him to comply with the invitation of his
brother and colleague. The rashness of the praefect disappointed these
prudent measures, and hastened his own ruin, as well as that of his
enemy. On his arrival at Antioch, Domitian passed disdainfully
before the gates of the palace, and alleging a slight pretence of
indisposition, continued several days in sullen retirement, to prepare
an inflammatory memorial, which he transmitted to the Imperial court.
Yielding at length to the pressing solicitations of Gallus, the praefect
condescended to take his seat in council; but his first step was to
signify a concise and haughty mandate, importing that the Caesar should
immediately repair to Italy, and threatening that he himself would
punish his delay or hesitation, by suspending the usual allowance of his
household. The nephew and daughter of Constantine, who could ill brook
the insolence of a subject, expressed their resentment by instantly
delivering Domitian to the custody of a guard. The quarrel still
admitted of some terms of accommodation. They were rendered
impracticable by the imprudent behavior of Montius, a statesman whose
arts and experience were frequently betrayed by the levity of his
disposition.22282228 In the present text of Ammianus, we read Asper, quidem, sed ad lenitatem propensior; which forms a sentence of contradictory
nonsense. With the aid of an old manuscript, Valesius has rectified the first of these corruptions, and we perceive a ray
of light in the substitution of the word vafer. If we venture to change lenitatem into lexitatem, this alteration of a single
letter will render the whole passage clear and consistent.
The quaestor reproached Gallus in a haughty language,
that a prince who was scarcely authorized to remove a municipal
magistrate, should presume to imprison a Praetorian praefect; convoked
a meeting of the civil and military officers; and required them, in
the name of their sovereign, to defend the person and dignity of his
representatives. By this rash declaration of war, the impatient temper
of Gallus was provoked to embrace the most desperate counsels. He
ordered his guards to stand to their arms, assembled the populace
of Antioch, and recommended to their zeal the care of his safety and
revenge. His commands were too fatally obeyed. They rudely seized the
praefect and the quaestor, and tying their legs together with ropes,
they dragged them through the streets of the city, inflicted a thousand
insults and a thousand wounds on these unhappy victims, and at last
precipitated their mangled and lifeless bodies into the stream of the
Orontes.22292229 Instead of being obliged to collect scattered and imperfect hints from various sources, we now enter into the full stream
of the history of Ammianus, and need only refer to the seventh and ninth chapters of his fourteenth book. Philostorgius, however,
(l. iii. c. 28) though partial to Gallus, should not be entirely overlooked.

After such a deed, whatever might have been the designs of Gallus, it
was only in a field of battle that he could assert his innocence with
any hope of success. But the mind of that prince was formed of an equal
mixture of violence and weakness. Instead of assuming the title of
Augustus, instead of employing in his defence the troops and treasures
of the East, he suffered himself to be deceived by the affected
tranquillity of Constantius, who, leaving him the vain pageantry of a
court, imperceptibly recalled the veteran legions from the provinces
of Asia. But as it still appeared dangerous to arrest Gallus in his
capital, the slow and safer arts of dissimulation were practised with
success. The frequent and pressing epistles of Constantius were filled
with professions of confidence and friendship; exhorting the Caesar to
discharge the duties of his high station, to relieve his colleague from
a part of the public cares, and to assist the West by his presence, his
counsels, and his arms. After so many reciprocal injuries, Gallus had
reason to fear and to distrust. But he had neglected the opportunities
of flight and of resistance; he was seduced by the flattering assurances
of the tribune Scudilo, who, under the semblance of a rough soldier,
disguised the most artful insinuation; and he depended on the credit
of his wife Constantina, till the unseasonable death of that princess
completed the ruin in which he had been involved by her impetuous
passions.22302230 She had preceded her husband, but died of a fever on the road at a little place in Bithynia, called Coenum Gallicanum.

2209 Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 6) imputes the first practice of castration to the cruel ingenuity of Semiramis, who is supposed to
have reigned above nineteen hundred years before Christ. The use of eunuchs is of high antiquity, both in Asia and Egypt.
They are mentioned in the law of Moses, Deuteron. xxxiii. 1. See Goguet, Origines des Loix, &c., Part i. l. i. c. 3.

2210 Eunuchum dixti velle te; Quia solae utuntur his reginae—Terent. Eunuch. act i. scene 2. This play is translated from Meander,
and the original must have appeared soon after the eastern conquests of Alexander.

2211 Miles.... spadonibus Servire rugosis potest. Horat. Carm. v. 9, and Dacier ad loe. By the word spado, the Romans very forcibly
expressed their abhorrence of this mutilated condition. The Greek appellation of eunuchs, which insensibly prevailed, had
a milder sound, and a more ambiguous sense.

2212 We need only mention Posides, a freedman and eunuch of Claudius, in whose favor the emperor prostituted some of the most
honorable rewards of military valor. See Sueton. in Claudio, c. 28. Posides employed a great part of his wealth in building.
Ut Spado vincebat Capitolia Nostra Posides. Juvenal. Sat. xiv.] Castrari mares vetuit. Sueton. in Domitian. c. 7. See Dion Cassius, l. lxvii. p. 1107, l. lxviii. p. 1119.

2214 Xenophon (Cyropaedia, l. viii. p. 540) has stated the specious reasons which engaged Cyrus to intrust his person to the guard
of eunuchs. He had observed in animals, that although the practice of castration might tame their ungovernable fierceness,
it did not diminish their strength or spirit; and he persuaded himself, that those who were separated from the rest of human
kind, would be more firmly attached to the person of their benefactor. But a long experience has contradicted the judgment
of Cyrus. Some particular instances may occur of eunuchs distinguished by their fidelity, their valor, and their abilities;
but if we examine the general history of Persia, India, and China, we shall find that the power of the eunuchs has uniformly
marked the decline and fall of every dynasty.

2215 See Ammianus Marcellinus, l. xxi. c. 16, l. xxii. c. 4. The whole tenor of his impartial history serves to justify the invectives
of Mamertinus, of Libanius, and of Julian himself, who have insulted the vices of the court of Constantius.

2216 Aurelius Victor censures the negligence of his sovereign in choosing the governors of the provinces, and the generals of
the army, and concludes his history with a very bold observation, as it is much more dangerous under a feeble reign to attack
the ministers than the master himself. "Uti verum absolvam brevi, ut Imperatore ipso clarius ita apparitorum plerisque magis
atrox nihil."

2218 Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. iii. p. 90) reproaches the apostate with his ingratitude towards Mark, bishop of Arethusa, who had
contributed to save his life; and we learn, though from a less respectable authority, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom.
iv. p. 916,) that Julian was concealed in the sanctuary of a church. * Note: Gallus and Julian were not sons of the same mother.
Their father, Julius Constantius, had had Gallus by his first wife, named Galla: Julian was the son of Basilina, whom he had
espoused in a second marriage. Tillemont. Hist. des Emp. Vie de Constantin. art. 3.—G.

2219 The most authentic account of the education and adventures of Julian is contained in the epistle or manifesto which he himself
addressed to the senate and people of Athens. Libanius, (Orat. Parentalis,) on the side of the Pagans, and Socrates, (l. iii.
c. 1,) on that of the Christians, have preserved several interesting circumstances.

2220 For the promotion of Gallus, see Idatius, Zosimus, and the two Victors. According to Philostorgius, (l. iv. c. 1,) Theophilus,
an Arian bishop, was the witness, and, as it were, the guarantee of this solemn engagement. He supported that character with
generous firmness; but M. de Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 1120) thinks it very improbable that a heretic should
have possessed such virtue.

2221 Julian was at first permitted to pursue his studies at Constantinople, but the reputation which he acquired soon excited
the jealousy of Constantius; and the young prince was advised to withdraw himself to the less conspicuous scenes of Bithynia
and Ionia.

2222 See Julian. ad S. P. Q. A. p. 271. Jerom. in Chron. Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, x. 14. I shall copy the words of Eutropius,
who wrote his abridgment about fifteen years after the death of Gallus, when there was no longer any motive either to flatter
or to depreciate his character. "Multis incivilibus gestis Gallus Caesar.... vir natura ferox et ad tyrannidem pronior, si
suo jure imperare licuisset."

2223 Megaera quidem mortalis, inflammatrix saevientis assidua, humani cruoris avida, &c. Ammian. Marcellin. l. xiv. c. 1. The
sincerity of Ammianus would not suffer him to misrepresent facts or characters, but his love of ambitious ornaments frequently
betrayed him into an unnatural vehemence of expression.

2224 His name was Clematius of Alexandria, and his only crime was a refusal to gratify the desires of his mother-in-law; who solicited
his death, because she had been disappointed of his love. Ammian. xiv. c. i.

2225 See in Ammianus (l. xiv. c. 1, 7) a very ample detail of the cruelties of Gallus. His brother Julian (p. 272) insinuates,
that a secret conspiracy had been formed against him; and Zosimus names (l. ii. p. 135) the persons engaged in it; a minister
of considerable rank, and two obscure agents, who were resolved to make their fortune.

2226 Zonaras, l. xiii. tom. ii. p. 17, 18. The assassins had seduced a great number of legionaries; but their designs were discovered
and revealed by an old woman in whose cottage they lodged.

2227 The commission seems to have been granted to Domitian alone. Montius interfered to support his authority. Amm. Marc. loc.
cit.—M

2228 In the present text of Ammianus, we read Asper, quidem, sed ad lenitatem propensior; which forms a sentence of contradictory
nonsense. With the aid of an old manuscript, Valesius has rectified the first of these corruptions, and we perceive a ray
of light in the substitution of the word vafer. If we venture to change lenitatem into lexitatem, this alteration of a single
letter will render the whole passage clear and consistent.

2229 Instead of being obliged to collect scattered and imperfect hints from various sources, we now enter into the full stream
of the history of Ammianus, and need only refer to the seventh and ninth chapters of his fourteenth book. Philostorgius, however,
(l. iii. c. 28) though partial to Gallus, should not be entirely overlooked.

2230 She had preceded her husband, but died of a fever on the road at a little place in Bithynia, called Coenum Gallicanum.